Thursday night.
A trifle warm tonight - the first taste of southern weather. I haven't written you since I got here safely, have I? Dr. Graves had gone away for a week and won't be here until Saturday, so I've not seen the chief yet. The little girl who is bacteriologist here at present is one of Dr. Welch's girls, Helen Peck, 1916, a sweet youngster who hopes to receive a telegram tomorrow saying her unit is ordered to New York for sailing. She has been subject to orders for 10 months and is getting very impatient, since the work here is light. I am to have a pleasant laboratory to myself - small but well equipped with incubator, running water, large refrigerator, three windows and an electric fan. Miss Newell has her own lab, there is a general utility room and a pathology preparation room.
This diagram isn't true to proportion though I've tried to rectify lines freely as you see.
The laboratory staff is nice - two 17 year old boys, George & Pedro. The first a wonder, - able to do anything even an autopsy unaided and Pedro, a little street urchin, stunted by much smoking I should say and looking very young in short trousers, but with a bright, handsome face and wavy brown hair very uncut and unruly. He's friendly and funny. Told yesterday about his first experience at the big hospital table: He'd never eaten in any public place before except a Greek restaurant. 'Twas the first time he'd ever eaten codfish balls - and he stuffed them in his pocket and took them home & fed them to some guinea pigs he was raising. Shortly they developed the plague and he didn't blame them. Then there's Daddy who feeds the animal[s] and sweeps and dusts all day. He seems to have no other name. Miss Johnson is the secretary - young and nice. "Dr." Haley, a 4th year student next year is around too. They're so short of doctors that they are using 4th year men on the wards.
You saw the postal card of the hospital with it's [sic] five wings and public entrance. It's a big affair, with a bakery and drug department and kitchens, X-ray rooms, etc, etc., with separate wards for colored and whites.
Miss Peck, who has had previous experience finds the bacteriology work too light to keep her happy but so many of the patients come in with stabs and shots and cuts from beer bottles that she oughtn't to expect too much. She took me through the whole place yesterday except the psychopathic ward. I wish you could see some of the terrible little babies, such old, old faces and thin, wrinkled arms. They are probably syphilitic but they are the most heart breaking things you can imagine - look like old men of 90.
You'd be entertained to see my room for it's huge - a front parlor. I'll tell you more about it later but I must go to bed now for I'm terribly sleepy.
Your new courses started today and I've thought about it. Hope you had a good time and that it's cool.
Love to you, dearie,
Beryl.